aNewDomain.net — A staggering 1.8 million Yahoo! webcam users have had their images intercepted and recorded. This by a UK-based operation coordinated with the NSA called Optic Nerve, according to the Snowden docs. Read more here.

British intelligence GCHQ was very disturbed by the amount of naked images exhibited on the cams. The Guardian supplied the original doc below.

Internet giant Yahoo states the claims are a “whole new level of violation.”

British intelligence stated, “One comment from the agency read said: ‘Unfortunately?…?it would appear that a surprising number of people use webcam conversations to show intimate parts of their body to the other person. ‘Also, the fact that the Yahoo software allows more than one person to view a webcam stream without necessarily sending a reciprocal stream means that it appears sometimes to be used for broadcasting pornography.’ Internet giant Yahoo reacted furiously to the claims.

Yahoo’s Reaction

Yahoo! reacted furiously to the webcam interception when approached by The Guardian. The company denied any prior knowledge of the program, accusing the agencies of “a whole new level of violation of our users’ privacy.“

What to do with the NSA has become a dilemma for the president. The four choices Obama has been presented with, according to multiple news sources, were leaked to the DC press this week:

Phone companies retain the data.

Another government agency retains the data, such as the FBI.

A non-telecommunications/non-government agency retains the data.

Scrap the program. A daring proposal, but come on, this one’s a pipe dream.

If you think that you have any idea what is happening with the NSA surveillance you are living in La-La-Land. Even if Obama makes a clear choice among the first 3 options, the choice will not be accountable or transparent. It is all about spin and make believe. So take what the president promises with a grain of salt and watch what really happens.

Reacting to The Guardian’s revelation on Thursday that UK surveillance agency GCHQ swept up millions of Yahoo! users’ webcam chats, senators Ron Wyden, Mark Udall and Martin Heinrich said in a joint statement that “any involvement of US agencies in the alleged activities reported today will need to be closely scrutinized.”

Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican who authored the USA Freedom Act, a bill to end bulk domestic surveillance, said he was ‘unwavering’ in his stance after hearing of the new options the administration is considering.

‘While I am willing to sit down with President Obama and my colleagues in Congress to negotiate certain aspects of the bill, my stance to end bulk collection of innocent Americans’ data is unwavering,’ Sensenbrenner told The Guardian on Wednesday. ‘Bulk collection has never been authorized by Congress and I intend to stop this blatant abuse of the law.’

Senator Ron Wyden, another critic of bulk surveillance, told The Guardian: ‘Ending ineffective collection that violates constitutional protections, adds little or no unique value, and could be replaced by less intrusive methods makes more sense than trying to continue it.’ “

Based in Australia, David Michaelis is a world-renowned international journalist and founder of Link Tv. At aNewDomain.net, he covers the global beat, focusing on politics and other international topics of note for our readers in a variety of forums. Email him atDavidMc@aNewDomain.net.

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About the author

David Michaelis

Based in Australia, David Michaelis is a world-renowned international journalist and founder of Link Tv. Winner of Peabody award. At aNewDomain, he covers the global beat, focusing on politics and other international topics of note for our readers in a variety of forums. Email him at DavidMc@aNewDomain.net.